Ground pumice in soap - Pros and cons

[user 29721]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone added ground pumice to the CP soap for exfoliation? I'd like to give it a try but afraid it might be a bit too rough. What amount is good to start with? Share your experience/stories/pictures please!

 

[shunt2011]

I use fine pumice in one of my soaps. It’s hardly abrasive at all By itself I also add other additives to give it a bit more oomph. It’s for greasy or dirty hands.

 

[IrishLass]

Me, too. I make a pumice soap for washing extra dirty hands from gardening with a fine-grade of pumice. Adds just the right amount of scrubbiness without being abrasive. You can get different grades/grinds. I got mine from WSP. They have 2 grades- regular and extra fine for sensitive skin. I'm pretty sure mine is the regular, which is pretty fine.


IrishLass

 

[user 29721]

Thank you! What amount do you add? Do you just eyeball it or follow certain proportion?

 

[shunt2011]

I use 1-2 tsp per pound of oils. I like the regular pumice better than the extra fine which I accidentally ordered last. So I just add more.

 

[user 29721]

Perfect, thank you! Time to go make some scrubbing soap!

 

[Clarice]

I made the mistake of ordering super fine pumice - and was adding some to a cream soap recipe - it took a TON - it is more like a powder than a grit. SIGH! live and learn, right?

 

[Donee']

I am not a super fan of pumice - I like to use poppy seeds or ground nuts as an exfoliant

 

[KiwiMoose]

I made a pumice and poppy seed soap with the intention of keeping it in the shower as a foot scrubby soap. I could only get fine ground pumice and I reckon it's too fine. However it does seem to work (I only started using it two days ago, 4 weeks into the cure) as a fine exfoliant. I towuld be great as a gardeners hand soap I reckon. I put in 90g into 1kg oils - so just shy of 10%. (It was half a cup initially but thought it didn't look enough, so put in more). I also used two essential oils: Spearmint and Lemongrass. Very fresh smelling.

 

[Clarice]

That is GORGEOUS!!!

Is that a mold or a stamp? I love the poppy and the little blue dots - it screams FRESH!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[user 29721]

KiwiMoose - that soap looks amazing!

 

[KiwiMoose]

That is GORGEOUS!!!

Is that a mold or a stamp? I love the poppy and the little blue dots - it screams FRESH!

Thanks for sharing!

It's a stamp

 

[Marley]

Is there anything you'd change now that you've been making a scrubby soap for two years? I did a small test batch last night, 12 ounces of oils (340g), and added a combination of exfoliants: fine ground pumice powder, ground poppy seeds, jojoba meal, ground walnut shells, Fuller's Earth Clay, basically I added a total of 8 teaspoons of exfoliants in total. I see the speckles in the soap, but I do not feel the exfoliants at all when testing them. Understand, they're not cured yet, but I tested a sliver of one. I did force gel. Any ideas on what to do to make a better "scrubby" bar?

 

[Misschief]

I make a Gardener's hand soap that uses fine ground pumice, poppy seeds (not ground), dried lemon peel powder, and cornmeal. It's pretty scrubby and my customers seem to like it.

 

[GoodLuckFishing]

I use fine ground coffee for exfoliation.